The Hit And Miss of Pharmceuticals

(by Jody, Mental Health Matters)

Unless I am passionate about something, I am generally the “quiet one”, especially in group situations. Writing has always been my release, my way to get the trapped emotions and silenced words out;  my way to turn my traumas and tragedies into something tangible that others can relate to and know they are not alone in their thoughts.  Yet I have been staring at this blank sheet for days now, feeling more and more frustrated as each failed attempt to write passes by.

All writers get writer's block now and then, and there are numerous ways to cope with that.  However, this is not writer's block.  For me, this is a case of “meds brain” or “brain fog”, a term you may be unfamiliar with if you have had the luxury of not having to take medicine to help control your illness, but if you have, many of you may understand the frustration of it all.

The first time I tried an anti-depressant was about 15 years ago, and aside from the numerous side effects, the pills themselves turned me into a walking zombie. So after quite a few months, I decided that they were not for me. I weaned myself off and decided that would be the last time I tried any medications that would change the hormones in my brain.

After all, who wants to take a pill which comes with a two-page, small print insert containing the possible risks and side effects, running the gamut from dry mouth and headache to brain zaps and body twitches? The best irony is that it may increase suicidal thoughts, which was the reason I went on medication in the first place. We don’t give people with cancer a pill that may increase their cancer, but after six to eight weeks it may help it to get better.

About two and a half years ago I found myself in crisis and at the emergency room at my local hospital. After being briefly assessed by a social worker and a psychiatrist, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and major depression and anxiety.  It was deemed that I was not enough of a risk to harm myself, so I was given a prescription and sent on my merry way with a follow-up appointment three weeks later.

So now I have a predicament because I have sworn off anti-depressants and this doctor wants to give me both an anti-depression and a mood stabilizer, neither idea I am particularly fond of.  The option is staying in this deep depression or trying a different approach to get out of it. So I fill the prescription and start taking the pills and within five days the side effects start to sneak up quietly.…the headaches, nausea, the lack of energy and the worst of all, for me anyway, is the feeling of brain fog.

For me, brain fog feels like having half of your brain hijacked. It takes twice the amount of mental energy to be able to focus, concentrate, or make the simplest of decisions. I mean really, how I stand in the cereal aisle for ten minutes, glancing over the 50 types and brands, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated that I can’t make a simple choice, so I leave with muffins instead simply because there were only six types to choose from.

It feels like my brain is surrounded by a constant dark cloud, making it more difficult to see things clearly. It almost feels like minor dissociation, where I am aware and conscious of my words and actions, but part of me feels like I am somewhat detached from them and the emotions surrounding them. As a writer, I feel I cannot connect with my readers if I am coming from a non-emotional mind, and the words fail to flow as freely as they once used to.  That is beyond frustrating.

I have had to change medications 12 times. Some were from the severe side-effects I was experiencing, and others were simply making me progressively worse, sinking me further into the hole I was so desperate to climb out of.  I have tried anti-depressants of all types, mood stabilizers, anxiety medications and numerous combinations of all three, but have yet to find the mix that is right for me.

At present, I am on one of each of the above and was just given another anti-depressant to add to the cocktail, leaving me struggling once again with side effects that may or may not last from a pill that may or may not work in six to eight weeks.  I am willing to try just about anything to further my healing, so if that means being a human guinea pig, so be it.

Due to the lack of research and funding in the area of mental health, pharmaceuticals are given to us on a hit or miss basis. There has been no PET scan or any other type of test done to determine exactly which hormone needs increasing or decreasing, and so, often we are given the latest and greatest on the market or the one recommended by the last pharmaceutical representative that dropped off samples at the doctor’s office. The pen goes straight to the prescription pad, upon which time you are told to fill the prescription, take the pills as directed and come back in six to eight weeks if they aren’t helping, and “we will try something else”.

What is truly misunderstood by the prescribers of these drugs is the true side effects people feel, not the ones written on the back of the box. One wonders if they had to take them themselves, would they be so quick to hand them out with so frivolously with so little knowledge?

I am by no means an expert on medications. I am, however, well read and well informed about the medications I am taking, and I would recommend that everyone be their own advocate for medicine when it comes to their mental health. Despite the position of power and authority a doctor holds, don’t allow yourself to be intimidated, for it is you that is actually in the driver's seat.
Be an advocate.


- Jody (Jody's Blog)

Read all of Jody's Columnist Posts

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Jody

Guest Blogger
Writer
Survivor, Warrior, Conqueror

Visit Jody's website at

Jodyb2016 Wordpress

  

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Jody

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What More Could You Be Doing?

Our health is one of those things that we think about, know about, and act on every day, but sometimes we just don't do as much for our heath as we should.  So, my question to you is, what more could you be doing for your health?

It sounds like such a simple question but in all reality it is not.  If we all did as much for our health as we should, our country and the world would be far healthier than it is.  Health care costs would be lower and people would most likely not be as cranky because of pain.

Part of the problem is that we see the doctors as holding the key to our health, rather than impacting our health through our daily actions and activities.  We think because we have insurance for when something goes wrong, that we can put off the little healthy activities that add up.  It is part of our human behavior to do this.

I am always amused when I hear people talk about how healthy they eat.  I worked in a fast food restaurant and people would order the salad bar and then add on fries and a milkshake.  I always sat there dumbfounded, but hey in the fast food world, its profits over health.  We weren't allowed to encourage people to think about what they eat.  We were to sell them as much as we could get them to eat.

People talk about how healthy they are...

I see people talk about how healthy they eat, but then if you go into the grocery store of certain areas, it does not match what people claim.  If you look at the overall obesity in these same areas, there is plenty of evidence that people don't eat as healthy as they think they do.  Look at how much produce is purchased versus how many soft drinks, snacks, and processed foods go through the cash registers.

How many people go and gulp down sugar-flavored coffee drinks every day.  Do you realize just how many calories are in one of those things?  If not, do a google search and you'll find the answer.

If you aren't reading the labels in the grocery store, you're eating stuff that is of questionable value and most likely full of sugar or other things that do nothing for your health.  I am constantly amazed at what is put into foods in the grocery store.  It blows my mind and if you don't read every label, you're going to get bamboozled.

Activity that gets you moving...

How many people go out and walk or take part in activity that gets them moving where they can burn some calories, move the toxins from the cells, and get those joints a rocking?  We've all got the same amount of minutes in a day and its really up to us in how we use those minutes.  Are you being effective with your minutes?  If not, what can  you do to change that?

Diabetes is fast becoming a major health issue in this country and so much of this is caused by lifestyle choices.  If you keep dumping sugar and junk into your body, sooner or later it is going to catch up.  Why not start cutting back on sugary drinks or sugar in your diet.  Add more "water" to your day.  Keep a glass of water close to your desk and see how many of those you can drink in a day.

There are so many things we can do to impact our health, but for whatever reason, we don't do them.  We talk about it.  We sometimes mock those that don't do it.  Yet, we're right in there making the same poor choices.

About medications and doctors...

Just because you're on a medication that has balanced whatever issue out in your life, it doesn't mean that this condition is okay.  It just means the medication is replacing your role in the condition.  Yes, I know that there are some medications that are needed and I'm not telling you to stop your meds.  What I am urging you to do is think about your role in the situation.  What more could you be doing?

Don't expect your doctor to have the time to hold you by the hand.  Many doctors are so overwhelmed with patient loads that they have little time to counsel you.  Many really want to help, but outside factors, including your willingness to change, often prevents them from doing what they need to do. Far too often, doctors have their own paradigms of healing, so why not learn on your own and discover how you can interact with your own health.

We all make choices on our health.  We all make decisions as to whether we're going to work to be more healthy or not.  Often, everyone waits until they are at the critical emergency state before we wake up and start to do something.

Our health is not going to improve on its own if we keep treating our mind and our body like garbage dumps.  So, I'll end with the question I started with on this blog post.   

What more could you be doing for your health?

Feel free to leave a comment of what you think you could be doing to help your own health.  See if you can come up with a plan where you take action and do something.  You may just be saving your own life from misery, pain, and expensive medical bills.

#health

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

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The Crutches Don't Heal You

Writing this blog post, I realize that most likely we all know what it is I am saying.  However, it is worth repeating because too often we don't see healing in the best possible way.  We tend to look at the crutches as if this is what heals our broken leg.  The crutches are there to help, but they don't heal you.

Now, I'm really not talking about broken legs and crutches.  These are just the metaphors that I'm using to illustrate the point that the crutches don't heal you.  What you do and allow and surrender to is what heals you.

Crutches can be a label for your condition, a medication you are taking or a procedure that you are going through.  Crutches can be a belief system that does not advance your healing.  Crutches can be a new age alternative approach that is more feeling and belief than results.  Crutches are anything that keeps you thinking that whatever it is will make you better when in fact, it is taking you away from feeling in your body.

We go to doctors and healers and we take medications and supplements.  We participate in various activities and practices that are designed to take us out of our suffering and pain.  While many of these things are good and grounded in reality, there are plenty that are not.  Today is not a discussion about that part of the healing process.

The thing we do as humans is we tend to think the doctor, the healer, the medication or the supplement have the answers to end our suffering.  We think if we take part in this practice or activity, it heals us.  Unfortunately, it is not any one of these things that heal us.

Now, you may be saying, but when I went and did this thing or went to that person, I got better.  Yes, you did!  I'm not disputing that.  However, it was not the person, thing, or practice that did the healing.   They just helped you find that healing in yourself.  Again, some do a much better job of this than others.

Healing comes from source energy and it comes from within us.  There may be people along the way that help lift us from despair and find a different world.  If we use these people and see them as a crutch that does the healing, then we have not learned that crutches don't heal you.  Crutches help you find the healing.

I know in the early days, it may be our complete capacity to just surrender into the person, thing, or procedure, not even beginning to see that we can heal, let alone heal ourselves.  As we progress, we should begin to see that we have much more within us.  We should be able to see that our crutches are there to support the healing, not be the healing.

There are some groups and individuals out there that are truly supportive and do help people to heal, but there are many that offer you services and products that take you away from the power you have inside.  They take you out of your body and place that power upon someone or something.  In those cases, the crutches have taken over your life.

I do realize that if you have faced insurmountable odds throughout your life, that seeing yourself as holding any power to change anything is often too great.  It takes the crutches to help you support your life enough to being seeing this.

Just don't continue to believe that the crutches are what heals you.  Learn to find that place within yourself that brings you to the point of power and sensing your innermost self.  It is in that place, where you will find true healing.  The healing power comes from within your ability to feel your internal body.  Feeling is healing and healing is feeling.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/18/15 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Pharmaceutical Sick Care Loves Its Drugs

How dare you!  How dare you!  You're talking smack about my drugs.  They keep me alive.  They maintain my life.  They keep me and my friends from dying.  How dare you!  Just who do you think you are?

I see all the time how people talk about pharmaceutical companies and medical care providers as being evil.  In many respects, there is much truth to it, but I still believe at the heart of all that is good, there are people who want to do the right thing.  Corporate greed and profits of course get in the way and has degraded health care into a dependence upon medications.

Are all medications bad?  I don't think any of us can answer that.  If you're a diabetic, would you consider insulin a bad thing?  Probably not.  Are all antibiotics bad?  Probably not.   Are antibiotics over prescribed and over used?  Absolutely!  I don't want to take one color and paint all medications in one light or another. 

My Story With Antidepressants

Many years ago when I had the Conversion Disorder, I thought I could recover on my own.  I had seen family members that went on medications for depression and they urged me to not go on these.  They always claimed that the doctors would put you on these medications and then brainwash you.  Of course, most of my family thinks I am brainwashed.

Since I was always a person that hated taking medication of any kind and I would try to find ways to live in life without doing so, I gladly refused all medications the doctors wanted to use to help me.  My doctor in desperation finally said, let's make a deal.  We will work through your recovery without medication and do it your way.  However, at any point where we see it isn't working, then you need to do it my way.

I went through most of my initial experience without medication.  I was proud of myself.  It wasn't until I got out of the hospital and was sitting at my home when I had my first anxiety attack.  It didn't take me long to phone my doctor on that Saturday morning begging for anything to help me.  I was freaking out and that's an understatement.  My doctor put me on anti-anxiety medication and an antidepressant which I can't remember the name of it.

Modern Day Drug Addictions

No one wants to talk about this subject.  No one wants to believe it is true!  Everyone feels that their drugs are theirs and theirs alone.  Don't intrude upon my world!  At one time, I would have been right in here defending the right to my own prescriptions.  Unfortunately, we are all living in a society of modern day drug addictions.

Of course, I do understand that some medications really help people and they save their lives.  However, there are so many that just keep people dependent upon them rather than forcing lifestyle changes that can accomplish the same thing in a much safer way.  I know, I know... you're probably wanting call me a nutcase and stupid and ignorant and whatever else you can think of to say.  I'm find with that, if it helps you validate your own dependence on medications.

Growing up,  my father believed in "taking over-the-counter meds" for anything and everything.  I hated all the stuff.  I often refused, but refusal was futile.  As I got older, I would try to lie and say that I had taken whatever it was my dad thought I should take, even though I had not.  He would often figure it out and make me take his pills according to his knowledge he deemed appropriate for whatever condition I had.  He was not a doctor, but he sure played the role of one.

Masking The Healing

We all have times when we come up against physical situations that challenge us to the core of our being. It may be anything from hip pain, back pain to a rash, headache, allergies or any condition you can name. Sometimes these conditions are debilitating and leave us screaming beside the road of life.

The strange thing that we as a culture subscribe to is we just want to flee the pain. The pain or difficulty of the situation is more than we can take in our lives. While this is understandable, we are often misled by the treatment options available to us. We just look for any way possible to get rid of or mask the pain as if it is no longer present in our lives.

We actually go to great lengths in our lives to flee pain. Through visits to the doctor, test and procedures, surgeries and medications, we beg for someone to alleviate our pain, heal our symptoms and fix us. We beg for someone to give a name to the condition that we are experiencing so we'll be able to know without a doubt, just what it is we are dealing with.

As much as we try to convince ourselves that we have somehow helped our situation, we are not curing ourselves of the conditions we face. There is much profit and power derived from these pains and conditions and so the illusions are propagated throughout our culture and society. In fact, they have become the norm in every day life and anything outside of these advertised healing methods give the appearance that they will not help.

Even though we spend billions of dollars each year on health care and healing, diseases and suffering are still present. It almost seems that new medical conditions are showing up every time we turn around. No matter how much money we pump into the health care system or how much we spend on doctor visits, medications and procedures, we are not necessarily a healthier people.

A long time ago, our culture and many others found more natural ways to heal the body. If someone was sick, we were not pushing ourselves to continue our life without interruption. We knew how to take time and rest and relax so that our body could heal itself. Today, we take numerous meds convincing ourselves that we are somehow treating and curing our illness.

If these medications and medical procedures are really curing us, then why are these health situations still around? I am not convinced anyone could argue successfully that we are truly healing people from all these medical conditions.

While I am aware you can mask the pain, this is not healing. Most in our society do not believe these words. Even if they give lip service that they do, just take notice of where an individual turns when the pain gets rough. We cling to what the medical establishment and our families tell us, acting as if it is the only hope we have. We completely disregard that which is within us as we give away our power to someone else. We fail to see just how powerful a role that we play in healing our own lives.

It has been said that our cells have the genetic cod for replication of normal and healthy cells. yet, we see just the opposite of that. Of course, when stress and trauma are allowed to reside within the body, our normal cell functions are disrupted. The stored energy of past events alter how the cell replicates and functions. If we release the trauma, we unleash the cells and the body to function in the way they are intended. If we hide ourselves from the trauma and stress, they we alter our biology.

By introducing some outside agent to mask the condition in our body, we are not healing ourselves. We are simply putting a mask over our eyes in hopes we will not notice the pain. We are hoping the pain will disappear. In the short term, the pain may disappear. However, if you give it some time, it will find a way to show up again. The next time it comes knocking in life, it may be much more difficult than it was before.

As hard as it is to believe, healing does not come from outside sources. There may be individuals and procedures that helps us connect with healing within our bodies but they do not heal us. For true healing, either on our own or with the help of a safe person, we need to connect with the source of pain in our lives. When we connect with the source of pain, only then will we find the way back to health. We can mask this, avoid it, explain it and try to believe that these connections do not exist. Of course, in the end, we will most likely learn we are just fooling ourselves. To make these connections does offer ourselves so much more freedom than we can imagine.

*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Unneeded, riskier spinal fusion surgery on rise

As reported on MSNBC.com, A study of Medicare patients showed that more complex spinal fusion surgeries have increased 15 times between 2002 and 2007. Although simple fusion surgery declined during this time, hospital charges grew by 40%. In the article, it is suggested that aggressive marketing of devices used in the fusion surgeries is playing a role in this increase. There have been allegations of financial kickbacks to doctors using the spine surgery products.

Conditions that spinal fusion surgery is used for includes common lower back conditions caused by aging and arthritis. The findings suggest that these more challenging operations are riskier and they lead to complications and deaths.

About 5% of patients who had simple or complex fusion surgery, suffered major complications such as stroke. This is compared to decompression surgery patients that stroke was a complication because of the surgery, 2% of the time. The risk of death 30 days after the surgery was .6% for complex fusion surgery compared to .5% in simple fusion surger and .3% for decompression surgery.

When you read articles like this, does it make you stop and think a little? Does it just make you question why one surgery over another is more dangerous? Maybe it makes you wonder why people resort to surgery in the first place? Hopefully, at least you are asking one of those questions.

Our body gives us warning signals that something isn't right and usually this is through pains in our body. All too often, we ignore those pains and we deaden them through all types of pain relievers, hoping that they will just go away. Pain is one of the ways that body says - hey, I'm trying to get your attention. Often, there are things we need to change in our lives and yet, we fail to heed the call of the body.

So after some time has gone by, where we have ignored our body, we then seek medical care as the answer to all our problems. We fail to look inside of ourselves and look at what may be causing the condition. We just want someone to take the pain away which is usually nothing more than masking the pain so we don't feel it. If drugs and medications don't work, than surely surgery must or so we think. And for the new age, alternative therapy people - we think that if we put electrical stimulus in our muscles or we do this or that form of bodywork, nutritional supplements and or some type of flavored drink mix, than we will be cured! And alternative therapy people are a little more smug about it because they are doing it naturally they think. Please don't get me wrong. There are many alternative therapies out there that are very beneficial but don't be blind sided by them. Don't mask the pain in exchange for another therapy.

At the end of the day, we are still ignoring our body and what is sending the signal up through our body. We've learned all our lives that pain is not good and so we do things to "avoid" the pain, not fix the pain. Its easier that way, we tell ourselves. Again, at the end of the day, we are still ignoring what the body is trying to tell us.

Looking to others, whether it is alternative therapies or medications and surgeries, for the answers is only going to keep us searching, and wanting relief. It is only when we look deep inside that we will find the answers that we need. Yes, there are people who can help us get there but until we look within, the body will not fully heal itself. At the minimum, there will be residue of the pain lying in a dormant state within our body.

All too often, we fool ourselves into believing that we need to get rid of the pain. If we just spent the time going into the pain and becoming consciously aware of what was causing the pain, it would go away. It would not just go away temporarily either. If we shined the light of truth on it, we would find the pain running for the hills trying to get away from us as fast as it could.

It bothers me so much when I turn the TV on and see the constant barrage of ads on medications. While they do claim this medication does something positive for us, they also enjoy listing all the harmful side effects that each one has. Yet, in alarming numbers, we continue to purchase and consume these medications as if they are giving us life. In reality, they are taking life away from us. I do not want to state that all medications are bad and should never be used. That is a decision you need to make with your doctor but make the decision in an informed way. If you do not go searching deep within yourself and just turn to the surgeries or the medications as your salvation, than you are truly robbing yourself of being human.

There is a concept called the "placebo effect" that has extreme healing power for us. In fact, when many of these studies for medications and surgeries are done, the placebo affect often does just as well, if not better than the medication or surgery. However, these things are often just not written about because they would take millions and billions away from the medical establishment. What company would really want you to know that you could basically heal yourself, if your mind was convinced that it could? That would take a lot of money from the drug companies and surgeons and hospitals. Think about it. Don't take my word for it. Try to prove to yourself if this is true or not.

Health care is not about taking drugs, doing surgery or finding someone to tell you that if you do their therapy or take this supplement, you will be healed. There is just so much of that thinking out there and if it truly worked, these people would work themselves out of a job. The way you become healthy is to get in touch with yourself and to truly travel deep into your mind and body, through the fear and controls you put in place in your life. Anything less than that and you are robbing yourself of truly being human.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Antidepressants - Expensive Tic Tacs?

According to a Newsweek.com article published on Jan 29, 2010, "The Depressing News About Antidepressants", studies suggest that popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo.

While I know that statement may come as a surprise to many and many may completely disagree with it, I'm actually learning just how true this is. At one time, I was on antidepressants as well and I actually believe they helped me during that time. It was a time where I was so depressed and suicidal that I needed something to help lift me up from that. During this time, I had very little support but did start to see a therapist on a regular basis. To me, the medications helped lift me up enough that therapy could work and I could begin moving forward in my life. Until that point, I was on a downward spiral.

My Own Medication Experiences
Than if I go back to some of my own experiences and that I've personally witnessed, I saw where drugs were the crutch and without them, the mind was much stronger than anyone wanted to believe. We often turn to the medical doctors, tests and medications first instead of taking inventory of all aspects of our lives.

I still remember when my grandfather needed pain pills after a car accident and since we lived in a rural area and it being the weekend, no medications refills could be obtained. My mother however, took some of our little candies from Halloween and convinced my grandfather that these were super pain pills. He went from being cranky and complaining about being in pain to falling asleep and having no pain. Little did he realize, that he had been given sugar candy and yet in his mind, these were pain pills.

In my own life, I've reached for medications that I thought helped but in fact, without them I could accomplish the same results. Of course that meant, I needed to address certain issues of my life and make changes in my life but in the long run, this was much better than a continued dependence upon drugs. I'm not talking minor physical complications either but situations involving allergies, migraines, stomach ulcers and some of the latest things that I experienced involving severe itching and rashes. Actually the more I tried the regular medications and drugs, the more some of my situations worsened.

Long Term Medication Harm
One thing that is important to note is that when you take medications, in order for it to alleviate some symptom or situation, you are suppressing something else in your body. Some normal process that helps keep your body in balance is now suppressed and that has implications on down the road at some point in your life. So, just because something seems to work on the surface, it may be doing untold harm to your body in ways that you're not even aware of. Most of the drug commercials on TV talk more about all the side effects than anything else, which I believe is very telling and proves the point that I'm trying to make here.

The Placebo Effect
In this Newsweek article, the following was stated which again lends credibility to what I am talking about.

But ever since a seminal study in 1998, whose findings were reinforced by landmark research in The Journal of the American Medical Association last month, that evidence has come with a big asterisk. Yes, the drugs are effective, in that they lift depression in most patients. But that benefit is hardly more than what patients get when they, unknowingly and as part of a study, take a dummy pill—a placebo. As more and more scientists who study depression and the drugs that treat it are concluding, that suggests that antidepressants are basically expensive Tic Tacs.

I'm Now Drug Free
For me, I am no longer on any medications. At one time, I was taking Zoloft for depression, Claritin for allergies, Imitrex for migraine headaches, Tagamet for my stomach problems and Tylenol for daily headaches. While I was taking these, I was told by medical professionals that most likely I would be on many of these for the rest of my life considering all that I had been through. Even though I had no clue or real understanding that I would one day be able to kick these drugs out the window, something deep inside of me urged me to keep searching. It was that little tiny voice inside that told me there was more to these things than I currently understood. The only thing I am currently taking is Fish Oils and there is a wealth of benefits that this naturally occurring substance helps our body with.


How Did I Do It?
As I went into some intense therapy where I started to face down the fears in my own life and let go of all that locked me into events of the past, my body began to change physically. So many conditions that I and the medical establishment thought were untreatable, were in reality something that could be changed. It wasn't a magic pill or a miraculous healing that did this. It was going into the fears of my life and the hidden corners of my mind to release all that was there. We all have situations in our current life or our past where things have happened to us and unless we find a way to allow that energy to exit, we hold it in the cells, muscles and tissues of our body. It is not until we fully release those things, that we truly get our lives back and function the way our bodies are meant to function.

Designed For Health And Balance
Our bodies are designed for health and balance. Our bodies are currently changing. In the book by Mirka Knaster, "Discovering The Body's Wisdom" on page 46 it says, in less than one year, we replace about 98 percent of all the atoms in our bodies. When I read that, I am astounded at just how much power our bodies have and how they biologically can change. If we continue to suppress their functions with the same information that we have relied upon all our lives, than we inhibit the change in our lives. Humans are evolutionary in that we should be changing and evolving. It is built into our biology. Let us not be content with the status quo because this is what we were raised to believe or what society offers as a total explanation to life. Let us all go beyond that and see the potential that exists even when we cannot begin to see a glimpse of it through our eyes.

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

High Tolerance To Pain OR Numbing Out

At one time in my life, I could endure a lot of pain. It had to get to the level that was so high before I would really pay attention to it. Usually in those situations, the situation was so dire that it would require going to the emergency room or a doctor for muscle relaxants and pain pills. I remember a few times that I was barely able to drive myself to the emergency room to get medical attention. Can you imagine that?

Not too long ago, I would have thought this was all a normal and standard part of living in life. Everyone gets pain, right? Everyone learns that you just have to suck it up and move on, right? After all, our jobs, families and other responsibilities don't allow us to be down with pain and physical problems. How many times have you heard someone tell you to just "buck up" or "suck it up" and move on? I bet if we were given a nickel for every time we heard that, we'd all be rich and wealthy.

Now I'm learning in life that there is another way. Of course, it took me going to the point of paralysis before I woke up a little. Yes, you heard me correctly. I was paralyzed from a Conversion Disorder, which is where you take various traumatic events in your life and just stuff them deep down inside until you can't function any more. It is rare to be in this psychological state, but unfortunately I'm living proof that it does happen. And if you want a wakeup call in life, trying being paralyzed and almost seeing your life end before your eyes. If that doesn't wake you up, not much will!

I suppose you're sitting here reading this and thinking, "what is this guy suggesting"? I'm glad you're asking that question. Then I'm assuming you're probably thinking - what's next, he's going to tell me to feel the pain? Wow, how did you hit the nail on the head so quickly? You're exactly right! And now I'm sure you're most likely sitting there reading this and probably uttering under your breath that I'm just plain nuts. Nope, this is first hand experience I am writing from here, and it isn't just a pie in the sky concept.

See, our bodies have a built in mechanism to help get our attention, and help us evolve or work through things in our lives to move us forward in life. That mechanism is "pain", "discomfort" and various other things. So often though, when the pain comes along, we say "we don't want to feel this", and we look for ways to numb it out, attempt to get rid of the pain, do surgeries to eliminate the pain and so on and so forth. However, in the end, we really didn't get rid of the pain, we just put a Band-aid on a gushing wound and thought we solved the problem. The source of the pain (the message) is still there in the body. All we've done is tried to silence the pain by applying Band-aids to it.

I know, I know - this concept may be totally foreign to you and you may be laughing so hard at me, but like I've said, I've experienced this concept over and over in my own life. If you think you have a high tolerance to pain, I would suggest that it is most likely your ability to numb out the pain - to not feel it, to act as if it doesn't exist. However, as I have learned in my own life and that of others, the more you try to numb it out or act as if it doesn't exist - the more the body says "I'll Get Your Attention". And the body will get your attention in some way or another. It doesn't give up. It keeps trying to say "hello, pay attention to me, I've got a message for you".

Most medical procedures, drugs, supplements, and many of the "feel good holistic therapies" out there just work to numb the pain. I get some information all the time in the mail about massage training that emphasizes “we get rid of pain or we eliminate pain”! I'm sorry, but that's not what is going to help anyone heal. It is by going into the pain, that we allow ourselves to heal. Yes, that is not easy to do and no, it is not comfortable, but when you connect the mind and body together as one without the fear, you can then go into the pain and find healing at the source level.

I'm not suggesting that you can do this on your own in the beginning, but I am merely trying to raise the bar of possibilities within our human culture. You may need someone that has already walked down the road, you are traveling to help show you the way. Ultimately, each of us has the ability to go past the fear, into the pain, and find healing for our lives. Healing doesn't come in some therapy, or some new age philosophy or a drug, doctor or surgery. Healing comes from within us. It is part of us and we are a part of it.

For legal purposes, please don't go stop what you are doing that was medically prescribed by your doctor after reading this. Check things out and take care of yourself in the proper way before you make a major change. There is a time and place for doctors, medications, surgeries and alternative treatments, but there is also a time and place for each of us to learn just how powerful the fears are in our lives and how much they prevent us from listening to our own bodies and our own internal health.

Learning to listen to your body and learning to go into the pain is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It is the gift that keeps on giving. We were not put on this earth to exist in our human form. We were put on this earth to reach our full potential and to grow, learn and experience all that life has for us. Yes, many of us have been beaten down pretty bad in life. I am one of those, but the rewards of learning to be at one with your body are so much greater than the struggle through the process.

If you only remember one thing from what I’ve written, I hope you will remember that true healing comes from within - not from outside sources!

Swine Flu Paranoia

I received this picture in an email the other day and I have no idea who created it. Whoever they are, you did a wonderful job depicting the paranoia surrounding the swine flu. If the creator of this picture sees this post, please let me know who you are so I can give proper credit to you.

While I know the general population feels that health care is about taking shots, vaccines, medications and having all types of medical procedures done, there are other ways. If we continue to subscribe to this paradigm, we are not making ourselves more healthy. We are avoiding the inevitable. I know there are many out there that feel this is the only way, and I know that many would not listen to much outside of that but I'm asking that you do not accept the status quo as the only route. Step away for a moment, from all that society, the news and those you have always listened to are telling you and seek out that which is a powerful force of healing and health within our bodies. You need not go any further in discovery than looking within yourself.

Acupuncture For Bad Backs

According to a recent news article posted on time.com, acupuncture does work! In this study, there were 638 participants with chronic low back pain that received one of three different acupuncture treatments.

One group received individual care in the classic acupuncture. Another group received acupuncture at standardized points for back pain. The third group were poked with toothpicks instead of the standard acupuncture needles but the toothpicks did not penetrate the skin as regular acupuncture needles would.

None of the patients knew which treatments they were getting. Each patient received 10 treatments over the 7 weeks. A control group of back pain patients were told to continue doing whatever it was that they normally did to control back pain.

After the 8 week follow up, twice the number of patients getting any of the three types of acupuncture treatments showed improvement in their daily functions such as walking or going up and down steps without pain, compared with those only getting traditional care. It was also noted that all three types of acupuncture type treatment even the one with the toothpicks had about the same reduction in pain. A year after treatments, acupuncture patients reported a 63% improvement in pain reduction.

While there can be all types of ways to analyze this, evaluate it and draw conclusions, acupuncture clearly does help. So the next time you have pains and before you say Doc, give me some meds to take away the pain, why not give acupuncture a try? Medications aren't always the best way to treat pain and in fact some times they get in the way of the situation that truly needs our attention.

I was scared to death of acupuncture until the first time I had an acupuncture needle put me in me. It was not as bad as I thought it would be and was not like getting pricked with a needle to draw blood because to me that is much worse and more painful. Believe me, I'm frightened of the thought of needles! So if I can do it, surely anyone can go to acupuncture! There is a lot of wisdom in the some of these ancient healing forms.

Information Source: Time.com